Latest news with #Pangkahila
Perth Now
7 days ago
- Perth Now
Australian man's bombshell claim after drug arrest in Bali
An Australian man who could face the death penalty in Indonesia over an alleged attempt to smuggle $1.1m worth of cocaine into Bali claims he was set up and had no idea the parcels he collected contained drugs. Lamar Ahchee, 43, originally from Cairns and the son of former Queensland senior constable Les Ahchee, was arrested last Thursday after allegedly collecting two drug-filled parcels sent from the UK. Authorities allege 1.8kg of cocaine was concealed inside two Gold Lindt chocolate boxes, with each box containing 54 individually wrapped packets of the drug that weighed 8.3g per packet. Mr Ahchee allegedly tested positive for drugs while in custody. His lawyer, Edward Pangkahila, said his client denied any involvement in drug trafficking. 'He's telling me that honestly, he doesn't know what was inside. We're still looking for that somebody who tell him to take this package,' Mr Pangkahila said. 'The police have to find this guy.' Mr Pangkahila said his client was 'very upset and stressed' by the ordeal. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that consular support was being provided to an Australian man detained in Bali but declined to provide further information due to privacy obligations. Bali police Chief Inspector General Daniel Adityajaya said the parcels arrived in Indonesia on May 12 and were flagged as suspicious after being scanned at Ngurah Rai Airport. A controlled delivery was then conducted by customs and the Bali Regional Police Narcotics Directorate. One parcel was allegedly sent from Runwell, east of London, addressed to 'Alex and Julie' in Kuta Utara, near Canggu. The other reportedly came from Braintree and was addressed to 'Dave Jones' in the same area. On May 22, police allege Mr Ahchee arranged for a driver to pick up the parcels. After meeting the driver at a restaurant, he allegedly took the packages back to a location in Canggu, where he was arrested by the Bali drug squad. Authorities say he resisted arrest and sustained injuries during the encounter. Police allege Mr Ahchee was in possession of 1.8kg of cocaine, an amount that carries the death penalty under Indonesian law, and he was offered nearly 50 million rupiah (about $A4700) to receive and distribute the drugs. He has since been charged with three drug offences, including importing narcotics. Mr Ahchee has been living in Bali since 2017. He previously worked in hospitality and resigned as general manager of Canggu restaurant Brick Lane Bali in November last year after eight months in the role. His LinkedIn profile states he co-founded and directed tech companies in Jakarta and Bali from 2019 and previously worked in marketing in Sydney. His arrest comes just five months after the final members of the infamous Bali Nine returned to Australia, almost two decades after they were caught attempting to smuggle heroin from the holiday island in 2005. Ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015. Another member, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, died in custody in 2018. Renae Lawrence, who was the only member to avoid a life sentence or the death penalty, was released in 2018. The group had attempted to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin strapped to their bodies.
Perth Now
7 days ago
- Perth Now
Australian denies drug trafficking in Bali
An Australian man who could face the death penalty in Indonesia over an alleged attempt to smuggle $1.1m worth of cocaine into Bali claims he was set up and had no idea the parcels he collected contained drugs. Lamar Ahchee, 43, originally from Cairns and the son of former Queensland senior constable Les Ahchee, was arrested last Thursday after allegedly collecting two drug-filled parcels sent from the UK. Authorities allege 1.8kg of cocaine was concealed inside two Gold Lindt chocolate boxes, with each box containing 54 individually wrapped packets of the drug that weighed 8.3g per packet. Mr Ahchee allegedly tested positive for drugs while in custody. His lawyer, Edward Pangkahila, said his client denied any involvement in drug trafficking. 'He's telling me that honestly, he doesn't know what was inside. We're still looking for that somebody who tell him to take this package,' Mr Pangkahila said. 'The police have to find this guy.' Mr Pangkahila said his client was 'very upset and stressed' by the ordeal. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that consular support was being provided to an Australian man detained in Bali but declined to provide further information due to privacy obligations. Bali police Chief Inspector General Daniel Adityajaya said the parcels arrived in Indonesia on May 12 and were flagged as suspicious after being scanned at Ngurah Rai Airport. A controlled delivery was then conducted by customs and the Bali Regional Police Narcotics Directorate. One parcel was allegedly sent from Runwell, east of London, addressed to 'Alex and Julie' in Kuta Utara, near Canggu. The other reportedly came from Braintree and was addressed to 'Dave Jones' in the same area. On May 22, police allege Mr Ahchee arranged for a driver to pick up the parcels. After meeting the driver at a restaurant, he allegedly took the packages back to a location in Canggu, where he was arrested by the Bali drug squad. Authorities say he resisted arrest and sustained injuries during the encounter. Police allege Mr Ahchee was in possession of 1.8kg of cocaine, an amount that carries the death penalty under Indonesian law, and he was offered nearly 50 million rupiah (about $A4700) to receive and distribute the drugs. He has since been charged with three drug offences, including importing narcotics. Mr Ahchee has been living in Bali since 2017. He previously worked in hospitality and resigned as general manager of Canggu restaurant Brick Lane Bali in November last year after eight months in the role. His LinkedIn profile states he co-founded and directed tech companies in Jakarta and Bali from 2019 and previously worked in marketing in Sydney. His arrest comes just five months after the final members of the infamous Bali Nine returned to Australia, almost two decades after they were caught attempting to smuggle heroin from the holiday island in 2005. Ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015. Another member, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, died in custody in 2018. Renae Lawrence, who was the only member to avoid a life sentence or the death penalty, was released in 2018. The group had attempted to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin strapped to their bodies.
West Australian
7 days ago
- West Australian
Australian man arrested in Bali says he had no idea drug parcels contained cocaine
An Australian man who could face the death penalty in Indonesia over an alleged attempt to smuggle $1.1m worth of cocaine into Bali claims he was set up and had no idea the parcels he collected contained drugs. Lamar Ahchee, 43, originally from Cairns and the son of former Queensland senior constable Les Ahchee, was arrested last Thursday after allegedly collecting two drug-filled parcels sent from the UK. Authorities allege 1.8kg of cocaine was concealed inside two Gold Lindt chocolate boxes, with each box containing 54 individually wrapped packets of the drug that weighed 8.3g per packet. Mr Ahchee allegedly tested positive for drugs while in custody. His lawyer, Edward Pangkahila, said his client denied any involvement in drug trafficking. 'He's telling me that honestly, he doesn't know what was inside. We're still looking for that somebody who tell him to take this package,' Mr Pangkahila said. 'The police have to find this guy.' Mr Pangkahila said his client was 'very upset and stressed' by the ordeal. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that consular support was being provided to an Australian man detained in Bali but declined to provide further information due to privacy obligations. Bali police Chief Inspector General Daniel Adityajaya said the parcels arrived in Indonesia on May 12 and were flagged as suspicious after being scanned at Ngurah Rai Airport. A controlled delivery was then conducted by customs and the Bali Regional Police Narcotics Directorate. One parcel was allegedly sent from Runwell, east of London, addressed to 'Alex and Julie' in Kuta Utara, near Canggu. The other reportedly came from Braintree and was addressed to 'Dave Jones' in the same area. On May 22, police allege Mr Ahchee arranged for a driver to pick up the parcels. After meeting the driver at a restaurant, he allegedly took the packages back to a location in Canggu, where he was arrested by the Bali drug squad. Authorities say he resisted arrest and sustained injuries during the encounter. Police allege Mr Ahchee was in possession of 1.8kg of cocaine, an amount that carries the death penalty under Indonesian law, and he was offered nearly 50 million rupiah (about $A4700) to receive and distribute the drugs. He has since been charged with three drug offences, including importing narcotics. Mr Ahchee has been living in Bali since 2017. He previously worked in hospitality and resigned as general manager of Canggu restaurant Brick Lane Bali in November last year after eight months in the role. His LinkedIn profile states he co-founded and directed tech companies in Jakarta and Bali from 2019 and previously worked in marketing in Sydney. His arrest comes just five months after the final members of the infamous Bali Nine returned to Australia, almost two decades after they were caught attempting to smuggle heroin from the holiday island in 2005. Ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015. Another member, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, died in custody in 2018. Renae Lawrence, who was the only member to avoid a life sentence or the death penalty, was released in 2018. The group had attempted to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin strapped to their bodies.
Sydney Morning Herald
28-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australian man Lamar Ahchee arrested in Bali did not know package was drugs: lawyer
Police then followed Ahchee back to his Canggu apartment and made the arrest. A female staff member of one of Ahchee's neighbours witnessed the commotion in an alleyway beside the block of units. Lamar Ahchee's Bali lawyer, Edward Pangkahila. Credit: Amilia Rosa 'I came outside because I was curious – it was so noisy, a ruckus, so many officers,' she said, identifying Ahchee as the centre of the officers' attention after this masthead showed her his photo. 'That man [Ahchee] was trying to run, and the officer chased him. I tried to take a video, but they stopped me. They said 'no video', so I just watched. The officers and that man, he was like five metres from where I was standing. They crowded the alleyway. 'He probably got injured when he tried to run. He was trying to reach the main street. There must have been dozens of officers.' Ahchee could take heart from a similar case involving an English man, Thomas Parker, that concluded on Tuesday afternoon with a sentence of 10 months' imprisonment minus time already served. Parker, who also has Pangkahila as his lawyer, was arrested in Kuta on January 21 after collecting a package that contained more than a kilogram of MDMA on behalf of a person he knew to be a drug dealer, and of whom he was afraid. Investigators in that case dropped the charge that carried the death penalty after determining the package was not directly related to him. '[Ahchee's case] is like Thomas' case,' Pangkahila said. 'I can't speak for the police, but I can speak for my client. [Ahchee] had no idea what was in the package; he never admitted it was his, he never received or was promised payment. It was just a favour. 'My client was very upset. He was so upset he was throwing himself onto the wall and onto the floor … he is stressed because he knows the charges carry the death penalty.' Bali police will now work with prosecutors to complete Ahchee's interrogation and the investigation dossier. Once that is finished, a process that can take no longer than four months, prosecutors will prepare an indictment. Speaking after Parker's case, Pangkahila said even a 10-month sentence was too long and that his client should be free. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what's making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
Sky News AU
27-05-2025
- Sky News AU
Lawyer of Australian man arrested in Bali for allegedly aiding in drug smuggling operation says client was unaware package contained drugs
The lawyer representing an Australian man arrested in Bali for allegedly aiding in a drug smuggling operation has revealed his client is distressed about potentially facing the death penalty and that he did not know the package contained drugs. Lamar Aaron Ahchee, 43 was arrested in Bali on Monday with police alleging he aided in the smuggling of 1.8 kilograms of cocaine into the south-east Asian country. The man was arrested at the location where the drugs were allegedly delivered, with authorities estimating the drugs to be worth $1.1 million. Police in the Indonesian province allege the man arranged to have two small packages containing cocaine picked up from a post office and taken to him, and that the packages arrived in Bali last week disguised as small chocolate wrappers. The lawyer representing the man said his client was extremely distressed he could face the death penalty if convicted, so much so he threw himself against the wall of the police station after being arrested. Edward Pangkahila said that although his client was a regular user of cocaine, he was completely unaware the packages contained drugs, and that he only retrieved them as a 'favour' to a friend, who Mr Ahchee claimed deceived him. "He's telling me that honestly, he doesn't know what is inside [the chocolate wrappers]," Mr Pangkahila said. "Lamar is very upset and stressed because he knows [he could face the death penalty]," he stated. 'All these drug dealers, they will involve innocent people because if and when police make an arrest, they are not the ones with the drugs,' he said. Police are not alleging that Mr Ahchee smuggled the packages himself, but rather that he was promised 50 million rupiah ($4,731) by someone called 'boss' to collect them. Mr Pangkahila said his client had known the friend for only a year, and that he had since left town. The lawyer also stated Mr Ahchee had not received payment for collecting the packages and never agreed to accept one. "I can't speak for the police, but I can speak for my client. [Ahchee] had no idea what was in the package; he never admitted it was his, he never received or was promised payment. It was just a favour. Authorities are accusing Mr Ahchee of arranging for a driver to retrieve the drugs from a Bali post office, and that the Cairns-born entrepreneur collected the parcels the day after at a restaurant. Police, who were tracking the parcel since it's arrival from the UK, then followed Mr Ahchee back to his residence and arrested him. Mr Ahchee is yet to be charged with an offence, but authorities have indicated he could be slapped with a range of charges including some that contain the death sentence as the maximum penalty. He was presented to the media at a press conference on Monday wearing a black balaclava and an orange jumpsuit. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was providing consular assistance to an Australian citizen detained in Bali.
